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Hip Hop hooray

TWO dancers are aiming to strut their stuff on the world stage, after making rapid strides since meeting a year ago.

Emily Edwards, aged 14, from Newton-le-Willows, and 17-year-old Tumelo Moniwa, from Haydock, have secured a place in the IDO World Hip Hop Championship, to be held in Germany in September.

The duo met at StagePro Academy in Warrington last summer and since then have trained tirelessly, sometimes seven days a week.

The dance partners gained national recognition in February, when they won first place in the over 16s hip hop duo category at the Street Dance International competition in Bury.

This marked only the beginning of the teenagers’ ambitions, however.

Emily’s mother, Melanie Edwards, is proud of how far they have come.

She said: “They decided six months ago to try to compete at the highest level. The preparation for the competitions was intense, yet they were both determined that if they were going to do it, they would do it properly.”

Emily, a pupil at Hope Academy, and Tumelo, a student at Wigan and Leigh College, set their sights on a place on Team England, which would allow them to represent their country on a world stage.

After a gruelling three rounds at British National (SDI) competition Luton, Emily and Tumelo were called back for the final.

Melanie said: “The final gave them the chance to showcase just how hard they had been training for the event.

“All of the competitors in their section were much older than both Emily and Tumelo.

“Despite the odds being against them, they danced their hearts out and managed to be awarded third place.”

This secured a place on Team England, meaning the duo will travel to Rimini, Italy, in July for the European tournament, before competing in the prestigious world championships at Bochum, Germany in September.

Melanie added: “They have worked so hard for the opportunity to represent their country and compete in Italy and Germany, but they are going to need sponsors to help them achieve their dream.”

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